Method for sharing data between motor vehicles to automate aspects of driving

ABSTRACT

Provided is a navigation system for a leader vehicle leading follower vehicles, including: the leader vehicle, configured to transmit, real-time movement data to follower vehicles; and, the follower vehicles, each comprising: a signal receiver for receiving the data from the leader vehicle; sensors configured to detect at least one maneuverability condition; a memory; a vehicle maneuver controller; a distance sensor; and a processor configured to: determine a route for navigating the local follower vehicle from an initial location; determine a preferred range of distances from the vehicle in front of the respective follower vehicle that the respective follower vehicle should stay within; determine a set of active maneuvering instructions for the respective follower vehicle based on at least a portion of the data received from the guiding vehicle; determine a lag in control commands; and, execute the set of active maneuvering instructions in the respective follower vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/948,620, filed Nov. 23, 2015, which claims the benefit of ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/086,793, filed Dec. 3, 2014.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure relates to automatic or semi-automatic navigation andmaneuvering of motor vehicles.

BACKGROUND

Currently, various driver assistance systems are available in cars toassist drivers in the operation of vehicles. These systems help driverswith the work required to safely drive from an origin to a destination.Some driver assistance systems, such as adaptive cruise control and lanekeeping, are advantageous for assisting the driver with the control andstability of a vehicle, but still require a human to manually commandand navigate the vehicle.

Although much effort and research has been put toward autonomousvehicles capable of driving from one location to another without theneed for human assistance, a fully automatic vehicle that monitors roadconditions, reads signs, and processes and reacts to objects whilenavigating a route between two points requires extensive technologicaladvancement and has been prohibitively expensive to implement. A needexists for a less costly method to automate some aspects of drivingmotor vehicles.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of some embodiments of thetechniques described herein in order to provide a basic understanding ofthe invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of theinvention. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements of theinvention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purposeis to present some embodiments of the invention in a simplified form asa prelude to the more detailed description that is presented below.

An intelligent navigation system for a leader vehicle leading one ormore follower vehicles, including: the leader vehicle, configured totransmit, with a signal emitter, at least real-time movement dataincluding at least a position, a heading, and a linear and angular speedof the leader vehicle to the one or more follower vehicles; and, the oneor more follower vehicles, each configured to receive data transmittedby the leader vehicle, and including: a signal receiver for receivingthe data transmitted from the leader vehicle; one or more sensorsconfigured to detect at least one maneuverability condition of therespective follower vehicle; a random-access memory; a vehicle maneuvercontroller for operating or moving the respective follower vehicle; adistance measuring sensor to measure distance from the respectivefollower vehicle to another vehicle; a processor for processing avehicle maneuvering software application having a software instructionor code for controlling a movement or an operation of the respectivefollower vehicle in communication with at least the signal receiver, thesensor, the random-access memory, the vehicle maneuver controller, andthe distance measuring sensor, the processor configured to: determine aroute for navigating the local follower vehicle from an initiallocation; determine a preferred range of distances from the vehicle infront of the respective follower vehicle that the respective followervehicle should stay within; determine a set of active maneuveringinstructions for the respective follower vehicle based on at least aportion of the data received from the guiding vehicle; determine a lagin control commands; and, execute the set of active maneuveringinstructions in the respective follower vehicle.

Provided is an intelligent navigation system for a guiding vehicle toguide one or more follower vehicles, including: the guiding vehicle,configured to at least: receive, with a receiver of the guiding vehicle,a real-time distance to a vehicle in front of each of the one or morefollower vehicles; determine, with a processor of the guiding vehicle, adistance to each of the one or more follower vehicles relative to theguiding vehicle; determine, with the processor of the guiding vehicle,at least real-time navigation and maneuvering data for each of the oneor more follower vehicles based on the real-time distance to the vehicledirectly in front of each of the one or more follower vehicles; and,transmit, with a signal emitter of the guiding vehicle, at leastreal-time navigation and maneuvering data to each of the one or morefollower vehicles; and, the one or more follower vehicles, eachconfigured to: determine, with a distance sensor of the respectivefollower vehicle, the real-time distance to a vehicle in front of therespective follower vehicle; transmit, with a signal emitter of therespective follower vehicle, the real-time distance to the vehicle infront of the respective follower vehicle to the guiding vehicle;receive, with a signal receiver of the respective follower vehicle, theat least real-time navigation and maneuvering data for the respectivefollower vehicle; and, adjust, with a processor of the respectivefollower vehicle, at least a velocity and a steering position of therespective follower vehicle based on the at least real-time navigationand maneuvering data received.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a leader vehicle broadcasting a signalindicating its unique identifier, route, and destination, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the positioning of follower vehiclebehind a leader vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a driving group with a plurality offollowers, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the process of initiating a drivinggroup, according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference toa few embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present inventions. Itwill be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the presentinvention may be practiced without some or all of these specificdetails. In other instances, well known process steps and/or structureshave not been described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscurethe present invention. Further, it should be emphasized that severalinventive techniques are described, and embodiments are not limited tosystems implanting all of those techniques, as various cost andengineering trade-offs may warrant systems that only afford a subset ofthe benefits described herein or that will be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art.

Some embodiments include a method for motor vehicles to share data inorder to automate some aspects of the operation (navigation andmaneuvering) of motor vehicles. In some embodiments, a leader motorvehicle, also referred to herein as a guiding vehicle, which may behuman operated or autonomous, establishes a connection with one or morefollower motor vehicles (also referred to herein as vehicles to beguided) that have a common route. In some embodiments, the leadervehicle transmits driving information to the one or more followervehicles, which use the information to make intelligent drivingdecisions.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a leader-configured motor vehicle. Insome embodiments, leader-configured motor vehicles share informationwith following vehicles to form driving groups wherein followingvehicles rely on shared information to make automatic driving decisions.In some embodiments, leader motor vehicles broadcast signals 101including at least the leader vehicle's destination, a planned routethat the leader vehicle will take, and a unique identifier. Signals maybe broadcast via an omni-directional antenna 102, for example. In someembodiments, follower-configured vehicles receive and analyze the signalto determine whether they would benefit from joining the driving group.In some embodiments, if a follower vehicle shares the same destinationas the leader vehicle, or a common route or partial route, the processorof the follower vehicle determines that the follower vehicle should jointhe driving group led by the leader vehicle. In FIG. 1 , thefollower-configured vehicle 103 receives the broadcasted signal 101 fromthe leader vehicle 100.

In some embodiments, follower vehicles are positioned behind leadervehicles with which they are sharing information. FIG. 2 illustrates anexample of the follower vehicle 203 positioned behind a leader vehicle200. Additional follower vehicles may be positioned one behind anotherin a line behind the vehicle 203. In some embodiments, signals 201 froma rear-oriented antenna 202 of the leader vehicle 200 are received by areceiver 204 positioned on the follower vehicle. In some embodiments,the follower vehicle is provided with a distance measuring sensor 205electrically coupled with a processor of the follower vehicle thatmeasures the distance to the vehicle ahead of the local vehicle. Apredetermined range of distances may be defined to maintain an idealdistance from the vehicle ahead of the local vehicle. If the distance tothe vehicle ahead of the local vehicle is too great, the local vehiclemay be caused to accelerate at a predetermined rate until the distanceis acceptable. If the distance to the vehicle ahead of the local vehicleis too small, the local vehicle may be caused to decelerate at apredetermined rate until the distance is acceptable.

Once a follower vehicle has joined the driving group of a leadervehicle, the leader vehicle may begin sharing driving information withthe follower vehicle. Driving information may include, for example, anyof a clock or time synchronizing device, the velocity of the leadervehicle, the steering position of the leader vehicle, rate ofacceleration of the leader vehicle, rate deceleration of the leadervehicle, or any other useful information. In some embodiments, drivinginformation may be shared by transmitting data packages from arear-oriented antenna positioned on the leader vehicle. In embodiments,driving information may be transmitted at predetermined regularintervals and/or anytime any of the driving information metrics havechanged. In some embodiments, receipt of driving information from aleader vehicle may activate actuators in a follower vehicle. In someembodiments, ppon receipt of a leader vehicle's velocity, a followervehicle may be caused to match that velocity by automaticallyaccelerating or decelerating. In some embodiments, the increase invelocity of a follower vehicle to match a leader vehicle's velocity maybe limited, causing the follower vehicle, in some instances, to extendthe amount of time it takes to reach the same velocity as the leadervehicle. In some embodiments, receipt of a steering position of theleader vehicle causes the follower vehicle to match the steeringposition of the leader vehicle after a calculated delay time. The delaytime may be calculated by dividing the distance from the followervehicle to the leader vehicle by the velocity of the leader vehicle.After the delay time, the follower vehicle adjusts its steering positionto match that of the leader vehicle.

In some embodiments, all data packets contain a unique identifieridentifying the leader vehicle and its driving group. Data packets maybe transmitted between vehicles through any of: radio signals,ultrasonic waves, laser light signals, and infrared light signals,separately or in combination.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a leader vehicle 301 followed by afirst follower vehicle 303, then a second follower vehicle 306. In suchcases, follower vehicles relay and transmit signals 307 to otherfollower vehicles through rear-oriented antennas 308. Follower vehiclesreceive data from other follower vehicles in the same way that data maybe received from a leader vehicle: through a receiver 309. In a likemanner, follower vehicles may use distance measuring sensors 310 todetermine their distance to another follower vehicle, the processorusing this information in the same way as previously to maintain anappropriate distance from the vehicle ahead of the local vehicle. Insome embodiments, when a first follower vehicle is succeeded by a secondfollower vehicle in the driving group, as may be detected by a signalsent from either the second follower vehicle to the first followervehicle or the leader vehicle to the first follower vehicle, the firstfollower vehicle is caused to relay all driving information receivedfrom the leader vehicle. In some embodiments, a first follower vehiclemay be further caused to transmit driving information of the localfollower vehicle to a second follower vehicle, including any of thedistance from the local follower vehicle to the leader vehicle, thevelocity of the local follower vehicle, the steering position of thelocal follower vehicle, rate of acceleration of the local followervehicle, rate deceleration of the local follower, and any other usefulinformation. The second follower vehicle may base responses to receiveddriving information on the conglomerated metrics from both sources, onmetrics from only the leader vehicle, or on metrics from only the firstfollower vehicle. In some embodiments, receipt of driving information byadditional follower vehicles may activate actuators in the additionalfollower vehicles in the same way as described previously.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the process for establishing a newdriving group. In a first step 400, a leader vehicle is identified. In anext step 401, the leader vehicle prepares information for broadcast,including the group's unique identifier, destination, and planned route.In a next step 402, the leader vehicle broadcasts signals with theprepared information. In a next step 403, the leader vehicle awaitsincoming signals from potential follower vehicles. In some embodiments,if the leader vehicle receives any follower vehicle signals to join thegroup in a step 404, the process proceeds to a next step 405 in whichthe leader vehicle records a unique identifier of the one or morefollower vehicles. In a next step 406, the leader vehicle startstransmitting driving information to the one or more follow vehicles.

In some embodiments, vehicles within a driving group exchange keepalivesignals at predetermined intervals in order to assure the connection. Ifmore than a predetermined number of keepalive signals are missed, theconnection between the vehicles may be terminated.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the invention havebeen presented for purposes of illustration and description. They arenot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the preciseforms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations arepossible in light of the above teaching.

In block diagrams, illustrated components are depicted as discretefunctional blocks, but embodiments are not limited to systems in whichthe functionality described herein is organized as illustrated. Thefunctionality provided by each of the components may be provided byspecialized software or specially designed hardware modules that aredifferently organized than is presently depicted; for example, suchsoftware or hardware may be intermingled, conjoined, replicated, brokenup, distributed (e.g. within a data center or geographically), orotherwise differently organized. The functionality described herein maybe provided by one or more processors of one or more computers executingspecialized code stored on a tangible, non-transitory, machine readablemedium. In some cases, notwithstanding use of the singular term“medium,” the instructions may be distributed on different storagedevices associated with different computing devices, for instance, witheach computing device having a different subset of the instructions, animplementation consistent with usage of the singular term “medium”herein. In some cases, third party content delivery networks may hostsome or all of the information conveyed over networks, in which case, tothe extent information (e.g., content) is said to be supplied orotherwise provided, the information may be provided by sendinginstructions to retrieve that information from a content deliverynetwork.

The reader should appreciate that the present application describesseveral independently useful techniques. Rather than separating thosetechniques into multiple isolated patent applications, applicants havegrouped these techniques into a single document because their relatedsubject matter lends itself to economies in the application process. Butthe distinct advantages and aspects of such techniques should not beconflated. In some cases, embodiments address all of the deficienciesnoted herein, but it should be understood that the techniques areindependently useful, and some embodiments address only a subset of suchproblems or offer other, unmentioned benefits that will be apparent tothose of skill in the art reviewing the present disclosure. Due to costsconstraints, some techniques disclosed herein may not be presentlyclaimed and may be claimed in later filings, such as continuationapplications or by amending the present claims. Similarly, due to spaceconstraints, neither the Abstract nor the Summary of the Inventionsections of the present document should be taken as containing acomprehensive listing of all such techniques or all aspects of suchtechniques.

It should be understood that the description and the drawings are notintended to limit the present techniques to the particular formdisclosed, but to the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the present techniques as defined by the appended claims.Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects ofthe techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view ofthis description. Accordingly, this description and the drawings are tobe construed as illustrative only and are for the purpose of teachingthose skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the presenttechniques. It is to be understood that the forms of the presenttechniques shown and described herein are to be taken as examples ofembodiments. Elements and materials may be substituted for thoseillustrated and described herein, parts and processes may be reversed oromitted, and certain features of the present techniques may be utilizedindependently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art afterhaving the benefit of this description of the present techniques.Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present techniques as described in thefollowing claims. Headings used herein are for organizational purposesonly and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description.

As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in apermissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather thanthe mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). The words “include”,“including”, and “includes” and the like mean including, but not limitedto. As used throughout this application, the singular forms “a,” “an,”and “the” include plural referents unless the content explicitlyindicates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “an element” or “aelement” includes a combination of two or more elements, notwithstandinguse of other terms and phrases for one or more elements, such as “one ormore.” The term “or” is, unless indicated otherwise, non-exclusive,i.e., encompassing both “and” and “or.” Terms describing conditionalrelationships, e.g., “in response to X, Y,” “upon X, Y,”, “if X, Y,”“when X, Y,” and the like, encompass causal relationships in which theantecedent is a necessary causal condition, the antecedent is asufficient causal condition, or the antecedent is a contributory causalcondition of the consequent, e.g., “state× occurs upon condition Yobtaining” is generic to “X occurs solely upon Y” and “X occurs upon Yand Z.” Such conditional relationships are not limited to consequencesthat instantly follow the antecedent obtaining, as some consequences maybe delayed, and in conditional statements, antecedents are connected totheir consequents, e.g., the antecedent is relevant to the likelihood ofthe consequent occurring. Statements in which a plurality of attributesor functions are mapped to a plurality of objects (e.g., one or moreprocessors performing steps A, B, C, and D) encompasses both all suchattributes or functions being mapped to all such objects and subsets ofthe attributes or functions being mapped to subsets of the attributes orfunctions (e.g., both all processors each performing steps A-D, and acase in which processor 1 performs step A, processor 2 performs step Band part of step C, and processor 3 performs part of step C and step D),unless otherwise indicated. Further, unless otherwise indicated,statements that one value or action is “based on” another condition orvalue encompass both instances in which the condition or value is thesole factor and instances in which the condition or value is one factoramong a plurality of factors. Unless otherwise indicated, statementsthat “each” instance of some collection have some property should not beread to exclude cases where some otherwise identical or similar membersof a larger collection do not have the property, i.e., each does notnecessarily mean each and every. Limitations as to sequence of recitedsteps should not be read into the claims unless explicitly specified,e.g., with explicit language like “after performing X, performing Y,” incontrast to statements that might be improperly argued to imply sequencelimitations, like “performing X on items, performing Y on the X'editems,” used for purposes of making claims more readable rather thanspecifying sequence. Statements referring to “at least Z of A, B, andC,” and the like (e.g., “at least Z of A, B, or C”), refer to at least Zof the listed categories (A, B, and C) and do not require at least Zunits in each category. Unless specifically stated otherwise, asapparent from the discussion, it is appreciated that throughout thisspecification discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,”“computing,” “calculating,” “determining” or the like refer to actionsor processes of a specific apparatus, such as a special purpose computeror a similar special purpose electronic processing/computing device.Features described with reference to geometric constructs, like“parallel,” “perpendicular/orthogonal,” “square”, “cylindrical,” and thelike, should be construed as encompassing items that substantiallyembody the properties of the geometric construct, e.g., reference to“parallel” surfaces encompasses substantially parallel surfaces. Thepermitted range of deviation from Platonic ideals of these geometricconstructs is to be determined with reference to ranges in thespecification, and where such ranges are not stated, with reference toindustry norms in the field of use, and where such ranges are notdefined, with reference to industry norms in the field of manufacturingof the designated feature, and where such ranges are not defined,features substantially embodying a geometric construct should beconstrued to include those features within 15% of the definingattributes of that geometric construct. The terms “first”, “second”,“third,” “given” and so on, if used in the claims, are used todistinguish or otherwise identify, and not to show a sequential ornumerical limitation.

The present techniques will be better understood with reference to thefollowing enumerated embodiments:

1. An intelligent navigation system for a leader vehicle leading one ormore follower vehicles, comprising: the leader vehicle, configured totransmit, with a signal emitter, at least real-time movement datacomprising at least a position, a heading, and a linear and angularspeed of the leader vehicle to the one or more follower vehicles; and,the one or more follower vehicles, each configured to receive datatransmitted by the leader vehicle, and comprising: a signal receiver forreceiving the data transmitted from the leader vehicle; one or moresensors configured to detect at least one maneuverability condition ofthe respective follower vehicle; a random-access memory; a vehiclemaneuver controller for operating or moving the respective followervehicle; a distance measuring sensor to measure distance from therespective follower vehicle to another vehicle; a processor forprocessing a vehicle maneuvering software application having a softwareinstruction or code for controlling a movement or an operation of therespective follower vehicle in communication with at least the signalreceiver, the sensor, the random-access memory, the vehicle maneuvercontroller, and the distance measuring sensor, the processor configuredto: determine a route for navigating the local follower vehicle from aninitial location; determine a preferred range of distances from thevehicle in front of the respective follower vehicle that the respectivefollower vehicle should stay within; determine a set of activemaneuvering instructions for the respective follower vehicle based on atleast a portion of the data received from the guiding vehicle; determinea lag in control commands; and, execute the set of active maneuveringinstructions in the respective follower vehicle.2. The system of embodiment 1, wherein the leader vehicle and the one ormore follower vehicles are configured to exchange keepalive signals atpredetermined intervals.3. The system of embodiments 1-2, wherein the leader vehicle and the oneor more follower vehicles are connected through a physical medium.4. The system of embodiment 3, wherein the physical medium is a wire.5. The system of embodiment 3, wherein the physical medium is amechanical attachment.6. The system of embodiment 3, wherein the physical medium permitsconnected vehicles to move with a degree of pivotal freedom relative toone another.7. The system of embodiments 1-6, wherein the one or more followervehicles are further configured to transmit and receive signals from oneanother.8. The system of embodiments 1-7, wherein determining the set of activemaneuvering instructions comprises calculating a delay time between theleader vehicle and the respective follower vehicle.9. The system of embodiment 8, wherein the delay time is equal to thedistance between the respective follower vehicle and the leader vehicledivided by a velocity of the leader vehicle.10. The system of embodiments 1-9, wherein the leader vehicle is furtherconfigured to transmit distance data comprising at least a distancebetween each of the one or more follower vehicles and the leader vehicleto the one or more follower vehicles.11. An intelligent navigation system for a guiding vehicle to guide oneor more follower vehicles, comprising: the guiding vehicle, configuredto at least: receive, with a receiver of the guiding vehicle, areal-time distance to a vehicle in front of each of the one or morefollower vehicles; determine, with a processor of the guiding vehicle, adistance to each of the one or more follower vehicles relative to theguiding vehicle; determine, with the processor of the guiding vehicle,at least real-time navigation and maneuvering data for each of the oneor more follower vehicles based on the real-time distance to the vehicledirectly in front of each of the one or more follower vehicles; and,transmit, with a signal emitter of the guiding vehicle, at leastreal-time navigation and maneuvering data to each of the one or morefollower vehicles; and, the one or more follower vehicles, eachconfigured to: determine, with a distance sensor of the respectivefollower vehicle, the real-time distance to a vehicle in front of therespective follower vehicle; transmit, with a signal emitter of therespective follower vehicle, the real-time distance to the vehicle infront of the respective follower vehicle to the guiding vehicle;receive, with a signal receiver of the respective follower vehicle, theat least real-time navigation and maneuvering data for the respectivefollower vehicle; and, adjust, with a processor of the respectivefollower vehicle, at least a velocity and a steering position of therespective follower vehicle based on the at least real-time navigationand maneuvering data received.12. The system of embodiment 11, wherein the at least real-timenavigation and maneuvering data comprises one or more of: velocity,steering position, acceleration, and heading.13. The system of embodiments 11-12, wherein adjusting the velocity ofthe respective follower vehicle comprises increasing or decreasing thevelocity of respective follower vehicle to substantially equal avelocity provided in at least the real-time navigation and maneuveringdata received.14. The system of embodiments 11-13, wherein adjusting the steeringposition of the respective follower vehicle comprises, after acalculated delay time, turning a steering mechanism of the respectivefollower vehicle to substantially equal the steering position providedin at least the real-time navigation and maneuvering data.15. The system of embodiments 11-14, wherein determining the at leastreal-time navigation and maneuvering data for each of the one or morefollower vehicles comprises calculating a delay time between the guidingvehicle and each of the respective one or more follower vehicles.16. The system of embodiment 15, wherein the delay time is equal to thedistance between the respective follower vehicle and the guiding vehicledivided by a velocity of the guiding vehicle.17. The system of embodiments 11-16, wherein the one or more followervehicles are further configured to transmit and receive signals from oneanother.18. The system of embodiments 11-17, wherein the guiding vehicle and theone or more follower vehicles are further configured to exchangekeepalive signals.19. The system of embodiments 11-18, wherein one or more sensors of theguiding vehicle triggers an action in an actuator of the one or morefollower vehicles.20. The system of embodiments 11-19, wherein the guiding vehicle and theone or more follower vehicles are a single embodiment.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An intelligent navigation system for aleader vehicle leading a plurality of follower vehicles, comprising: theleader vehicle, configured to transmit, with a signal emitter, at leastreal-time movement data comprising at least a position, a heading, and alinear and angular speed of the leader vehicle to the plurality offollower vehicles; and, the plurality of follower vehicles, eachconfigured to receive data transmitted by the leader vehicle, andcomprising: a signal receiver for receiving the data transmitted fromthe leader vehicle; one or more sensors configured to detect at leastone maneuverability condition of the respective follower vehicle; arandom-access memory; a vehicle maneuver controller for operating ormoving the respective follower vehicle; a distance measuring sensor tomeasure distance from the respective follower vehicle to anothervehicle; a processor for processing a vehicle maneuvering softwareapplication having a software instruction or code for controlling amovement or an operation of the respective follower vehicle incommunication with at least the signal receiver, the sensor, therandom-access memory, the vehicle maneuver controller, and the distancemeasuring sensor, the processor configured to: determine a route fornavigating the local follower vehicle from an initial location;determine a preferred range of distances from the vehicle in front ofthe respective follower vehicle that the respective follower vehicleshould stay within; determine a set of active maneuvering instructionsfor the respective follower vehicle based on at least a portion of thedata received from the leader vehicle; determine a lag in controlcommands; and, execute the set of active maneuvering instructions in therespective follower vehicle wherein: the leader vehicle is configured tobroadcast a signal comprising a route of the leader vehicle and alocation of the leader vehicle to potential follower vehicles; apotential follower vehicle determines to join a driving group led by theleader vehicle when a predetermined portion of a route of the potentialfollower vehicle matches the route of the leader vehicle; and apotential follower vehicle determines to join a driving group led by theleader vehicle when the potential follower vehicle shares a same finaldestination as the leader vehicle.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein theleader vehicle and plurality of follower vehicles are configured toexchange keepalive signals at predetermined intervals.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the leader vehicle and the plurality of followervehicles are connected through a physical medium.
 4. The system of claim3, wherein the physical medium is a wire.
 5. The system of claim 3,wherein the physical medium is a mechanical attachment.
 6. The system ofclaim 3, wherein the physical medium permits connected vehicles to movewith a degree of pivotal freedom relative to one another.
 7. The systemof claim 1, wherein the plurality of follower vehicles are furtherconfigured to transmit and receive signals from one another.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein determining the set of active maneuveringinstructions comprises calculating a delay time between the leadervehicle and the respective follower vehicle.
 9. The system of claim 8,wherein the delay time is equal to the distance between the respectivefollower vehicle and the leader vehicle divided by a velocity of theleader vehicle.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the leader vehicle isfurther configured to transmit distance data comprising at least adistance between each of the plurality of follower vehicles and theleader vehicle to each of the plurality of follower vehicles.
 11. Anintelligent navigation system for a guiding vehicle to guide a pluralityof follower vehicles, comprising: the guiding vehicle, configured to atleast: receive, with a receiver of the guiding vehicle, a real-timedistance to a vehicle in front of each of the plurality of followervehicles; determine, with a processor of the guiding vehicle, a distanceto each of the plurality of follower vehicles relative to the guidingvehicle; determine, with the processor of the guiding vehicle, at leastreal-time navigation and maneuvering data for each of the plurality offollower vehicles based on the real-time distance to the vehicledirectly in front of each of the plurality of follower vehicles; and,transmit, with a signal emitter of the guiding vehicle, at leastreal-time navigation and maneuvering data to each of the plurality offollower vehicles; and, the plurality of follower vehicles, eachconfigured to: determine, with a distance sensor of the respectivefollower vehicle, the real-time distance to a vehicle in front of therespective follower vehicle; transmit, with a signal emitter of therespective follower vehicle, the real-time distance to the vehicle infront of the respective follower vehicle to the guiding vehicle;receive, with a signal receiver of the respective follower vehicle, theat least real-time navigation and maneuvering data for the respectivefollower vehicle; and, adjust, with a processor of the respectivefollower vehicle, at least a velocity and a steering position of therespective follower vehicle based on the at least real-time navigationand maneuvering data received wherein: the guiding vehicle is furtherconfigured to broadcast a signal comprising a route of the guidingvehicle and a location of the guiding vehicle to potential followervehicles; a potential follower vehicle determines to join a drivinggroup led by the guiding vehicle when a predetermined portion of a routeof the potential follower vehicle matches the route of the guidingvehicle; and a potential follower vehicle determines to join a drivinggroup led by the guiding vehicle when the potential follower vehicleshares a same final destination as the guiding vehicle.
 12. The systemof claim 11, wherein the at least real-time navigation and maneuveringdata comprises one or more of: velocity, steering position,acceleration, and heading.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein adjustingthe velocity of the respective follower vehicle comprises increasing ordecreasing the velocity of respective follower vehicle to equal avelocity provided in at least the real-time navigation and maneuveringdata received.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein adjusting thesteering position of the respective follower vehicle comprises, after acalculated delay time, turning a steering mechanism of the respectivefollower vehicle to equal the steering position provided in at least thereal-time navigation and maneuvering data.
 15. The system of claim 11,wherein determining the at least real-time navigation and maneuveringdata for each of the plurality of follower vehicles comprisescalculating a delay time between the guiding vehicle and each of therespective follower vehicles.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein thedelay time is equal to the distance between the respective followervehicle and the guiding vehicle divided by a velocity of the guidingvehicle.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality offollower vehicles are further configured to transmit and receive signalsfrom one another.
 18. The system of claim 11, wherein the guidingvehicle and each of the plurality of follower vehicles are furtherconfigured to exchange keepalive signals.
 19. The system of claim 11,wherein one or more sensors of the guiding vehicle triggers an action inan actuator of each of the plurality of follower vehicles.